Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Can there be Judaism without Kosher?

The Omaha Jewish Press recently printed a piece called "Can There Be Judaism Without God?" The editor received positive feedback and asked me if I would write a similar piece tackling the question of whether there could be Judaism without Kosher. It sounded like a good project so here is what I wrote:

Can There Be Judaism Without
Kosher?

I sometimes imagine myself in a
world where I do not have to keep kosher. In that world I weigh 700 lbs. and I
am flat broke. Omaha has the distinction of having more restaurants per capita
than any city in America and is probably the hardest city in the world to keep
kosher in. Living here is like being confined to the fate of Tantalus of Greek
mythology. (Big difference being that the Underworld didn't have a great kosher
bagel place and a kosher deli on Fridays)

I must admit, there are days that
I imagine what the world would be like if for just one day, from sunrise to
sunset, the laws of kosher would be suspended like some alternate side of the
street parking rule.

I see myself like Homer (not of
Greek mythology) Simpson in his day dream about the land of chocolate,
frolicking through the streets eating everything that stayed still long enough
for him to take a bite.

In my mind I have already charted
a map and a complete schedule of every non-kosher restaurant in Omaha that I
would visit on non-kosher day accounting for time and distance (strangely I would
still do dairy in the a.m. and meat in the p.m. Some habits are hard to break).

Does my attitude seem sacrilegious?
Is my dreaming of a treif free pass somehow indicative of a spiritual
deficiency? Not according to Rabbi Elazar Ben Azariah.

He said that a person should not
say, "Pork disgusts me" rather one should say, "if only I could
eat pork, but alas, what can I do, my father in heaven forbade it to me!"

According to some commentators the
Torah’s dietary laws were prescribed for reasons of physical health. Long
before Phil Sokolof got us to make healthy food choices (look him up
non-Omahans) his great great ancestors were already instructed by the Torah to
watch what they ate. Kosher food was all about healthy eating.

But that cannot be the whole
story. If it were Jews would be the most physically fit people on the planet.
Further, things like schmaltz, bagels, cream cheese, knishes, blintzes, potato
kugel, and just about every Jewish staple would be on the unapproved list.

So what is kosher?

Although we have come to generally
associate the word kosher with food, the concept can be applied in a much
broader sense. When Queen Esther pleaded with king Achashveirosh to spare the
Jewish people from the decree of Haman she said, "Let it be 'kosher' in
the eyes of the king." The targum translation translates the word 'kosher'
with the Aramaic word 'takin' - the same root as 'tikun' - to make straight,
firm, right.

Kosher means so much more than
just fit for consumption. In modern parlance it implies that something is done
properly, ethically, and with integrity. As in, “that business deal was totally
kosher!” Or at times, “something here just doesn’t seem kosher.”

The reason for the dietary laws is
explicit in the Torah. “To differentiate between the pure and the impure.”

When you think about it, isn’t
that the reason for all mitzvot?

Isn’t that the reason for the
entire Torah? To differentiate between the pure and impure. Between holy and
profane. Between light and darkness. Between right and wrong. Between good and
evil.

Every day we make countless
choices; whether about what we choose to eat, how we choose to dress, how we
choose to speak, and how we choose to act. In every one of those scenarios
there are right choices and wrong choices.

When we eat, the Torah warns us
that everything that goes into our mouths must be kosher. And when we speak the
Torah instructs us that everything that comes out of our mouths must be kosher
as well.

The kosher choice is often the
harder choice, but with adversity always comes reward. Life would be easier if
I could eat whatever I wanted. But what can I do, my father in Heaven has
forbidden it to me.Following the rules
of the Torah is not always easy, but it nourishes my soul - a sensation
substantially more rewarding then nourishing my taste buds.

At its very foundation Judaism
stands on the principle that there is right and wrong. Kosher, in all of its
manifestations, is emblematic of that basic ethical concept. Judaism may be
able to exist somehow without it, but what use would such a Judaism be?

Whenever we eat kosher, speak
kosher, or act kosher we nourish our souls.Sometimes the price is high, but the payoff is always worth it.